The emphasis on energy conservation in recent years has spawned the development of many insulative window shades, like the Roman shades shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,346. Although immensely popular, most insulative shades are expensive and require specialized expertise to assemble and install. Therefore, there remains the need for a wndow shade which provides improved insulative characteristics, but which is easily retracted to essentially the same condition as a conventional roller shade or blind. Also, there is a need for an energy efficient shade which is inexpensive, durable, and lowprofile to compete in the roller shade market.
Pleated shades like the VERASOL shade are commercially available, but this type of shade does not provide any significant increase in the insulative factor for the window.